Have Your Say

Strange naivety

Re: Not guilty: Bezan and Glover (June 8). As a former MLA, I find it perplexing that in recent years MPs in particular have erected increasingly elaborate billboards paid for by taxpayers.

Their naivety is strange. They are, by placing these signs, advertising their hypocrisy. While proclaiming their belief in efficient government, they waste, in James Bezan's case, some $34,000, and for what purpose? To aggrandize themselves as MP?

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Why is this needed? Isn't it sufficient to have a sign on their office and their name in the telephone book in various places and on the Internet? People know how to reach them if they want to talk to them.

These huge and expensive billboards are there for one purpose and one purpose only. That is the same purpose correctly identified by Elections Canada: It is to gain unfair political advantage at taxpayer expense.

JOHN S. PLOHMAN

Beausejour

Surely Elections Canada must realize by now that there are only two kinds of voters in Harperland -- those who vote Conservative and those who should vote Conservative.

Allowing Conservative candidates to overspend on advertising is good because it helps prevent people from making the mistake of not voting Conservative. Advertising by other parties should be curtailed because their advertising encourages people to make the mistake of not voting Conservative.

I look forward to the day when we can once again live in the great country of Canada, when we once again have a prime minister who is proud to be the prime minister of Canada, one who will be proud to be head of the government of Canada.

WALDO DYCK

Winnipeg

Put something back in

I agree totally with Thomas Spence in his June 4 letter, Treat immigrants fairly. We do not need aged immigrants who will not put anything into this country and just take out.

PAUL PERREAULT

Grunthal

Value of leadership

Leadership qualities are crucial, for cities, nations or congregations. An effective leader can result in success, whereas an ineffective leader can cause utter destruction.

Amid all the government disputes Canada is facing on federal, provincial and municipal levels, I am reminded of a saying of the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad: "Your best leaders and rulers are those whom you love and who love you, and for whom you pray and who pray for you."

I believe it is crucial to understand that governments and communities cannot function unless leaders and citizens work in a synchronized manner towards a common goal. It is a two-way street to progress. How many of us can truly say we pray for our leaders or we love them? How many leaders can truly say they pray for their communities and love them?

As an Ahmadi Muslim, I am taught that loyalty to one's nation is part of faith and I always pray that God helps our governments in achieving a more prosperous Canada.

LUQMAN AHMAD

Mississauga, Ont.

Pool repair a 'no-brainer'

Re: Sherbrook Pool future in doubt due to repairs (June 8). The Sherbrook Pool might not be as fancy as a water park, and fixing it might not have the same cachet as building a new water park, but repairing it would cost a lot less than giving the money to a developer who may or may not fulfil the promise of access to inner-city youth.

Committing money already earmarked for an inner-city water facility to an inner-city water facility seems to me to be a no-brainer.

And since the estimates for the Sherbrook Pool's long-term needs appear to be less than the current fund's size, perhaps the leftover $1 million or $2 million could be used to renovate some of the generally unused east-side seating area of the pool into a water park-type facility.

BOB MARTIN

Winnipeg

Bring gun just in case

By Rob Currie's logic (No need for firearms, Letters, June 8), I also don't need to wear a seat belt because I've never had a car accident, or have a fire extinguisher because my house has never caught fire, or use a life jacket because I've never fallen out of a boat.

Of course a firearm is something you bring along, just in case, whenever you are in the wilderness. Just recently in Northern Ontario a man was mauled by a bear and escaped death only by the fortuitous arrival of people in a car.

There are also news reports about cougar and coyote attacks. They may be rare, but they certainly can happen. Currie is indeed correct to say a gun demands responsibility in use, but what happened was the result of a human mistake. A hunting licence would not have assured it wouldn't happen. And I don't believe the bears pay attention to hunting season if they decide to attack someone.

TOM MCAULEY

Winnipeg

Provincial data show reports of human-bear occurrences, which range from sightings to contacts, fluctuate in large part with the availability of food in the wild. Ill-timed frost and a poor berry season can make the difference.

There were 7,016 incidents in 2006, when berries were plentiful, but 13,010 incidents in 2009, when significant natural food failures were observed in the Parry Sound, Ont., area.

The item above was taken from the province of Ontario's stats. Doesn't sound like black bear encounters are as rare as Bartley Kives states in his June 9 Sunday Xtra column, Don't fret about bears, just give them respect.

I lived in northwestern Ontario for 20 years. The first thing you learn about the bush is never trust a wild animal. Especially a bear. I always took a rifle. Never had to use it, but came real close once.

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All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.